This generous English import LP has five Capitol sessions from 1954 (18 selections in all) that are led by either
Bob Cooper or
Bill Holman. The cool-toned but hard-driving tenor
Coop is heard on his first two dates as a leader, jamming through standards and swinging originals with
Bud Shank (who surprisingly sticks here exclusively to baritone), pianist
Claude Williamson, guitarist
Howard Roberts, either
Joe Mondragon or
Curtis Counce on bass and
Shelly Manne or
Stan Levey on drums. The remainder of this album features ten compositions by
Bill Holman who not only wrote for the octet but takes some fine tenor solos. His sidemen include
Don Fagerquist or
Nick Travis and
Stu Williamson on trumpets, valve trombonist
Bob Enevoldsen, altoist
Herb Geller, baritonist
Bob Gordon,
Curtis Counce or
Max Bennett on bass and drummer
Stan Levey. The generally exciting music shows that the stereotype of most West Coast jazz as bloodless was quite inaccurate. Well worth searching for.